Reader comments
DVD series revisits some of the better-known movies of the '80s

Bob M. | 1:35 a.m. Aug. 1, 2008

All I can say on the release of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off: "ABOUT TIME"! It's probably too bad we won't see it on midnight theatrical showings anymore.

A lot of junk | 1:49 a.m. Aug. 1, 2008

Most of those movies are not worth watching. Airplane is great, but other than that there isn't much worth spending your money on out of this group of dvds.

Mom in MO | 7:05 a.m. Aug. 1, 2008

I can't watch Footloose without dancing. Dated? Yeah. But it always leaves me feeling upbeat, young, and happier.

Comments continue below

Realist | 8:13 a.m. Aug. 1, 2008

It's funny to read the movie description for Footloose. It tells about a religious midwestern town banning dancing. Yet as you watch the movie the beautiful Wasatch mountains are clearly visible in many scenes. Although it is movie entertainment, I watch and think in my mind the movie's setting does not match its surroundings. In 1984 when the movie was made, were the producers overly cautious to mention religous Utah as the setting or would doing so have deterred movie watchers?

Star quality | 8:26 a.m. Aug. 1, 2008

Movie stars are made by writers, directors and producers, and they get way too much credit for appearing in well-written roles and too little credit for trying to make a bad movie better. Ringwald could not have saved a poor movie, and Eric Stolz and Lea Thompson would have been raved about if they had starred in Pretty in Pink.

Jason | 9:18 a.m. Aug. 1, 2008

Most of these movies have already had a DVD release, and I've picked up several of them for $10 or less on bargain racks. Paying $15 for a new release of a 20-year old movie seems rather pointless.
And I still like Top Gun, despite it's general '80s-ness.

80's | 10:08 a.m. Aug. 1, 2008

How can you not like Top Gun? "I feel the need, the need for speed, Owe!"

joe | 10:25 a.m. Aug. 1, 2008

I already own about four of the movies mentioned. Like Jason, I got them for under $10.

If for no other reason, Top Gun is great for the sound track. If you can watch it and not feel the power of the F-14s and the music, you have no soul.

I disagree | 11:20 a.m. Aug. 1, 2008

"Some Kind of Wonderful" was better than "Pretty in Pink", not by much, but better.

Mandella | 11:46 a.m. Aug. 1, 2008

WHERE IS THE BREAKFAST CLUB? That is the ultimate 80's teen flick.

Best 80's movie ever | 11:53 a.m. Aug. 1, 2008

GOONIES!!!!!!!!!! GOONIES!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOONIES!!!!!!!!!!

Snooze | 12:38 p.m. Aug. 1, 2008

Who cares 80s movies are terrible. Strange Brew is about the only one I can handle. Oh and the first Batman (check the date 1989). What a horrible movie deacde.

GAG | 12:53 p.m. Aug. 1, 2008

me with a spoon....

Mom in MO | 12:52 p.m. Aug. 1, 2008

"Footloose" was set in Beaumont, TX. They used the Utah Valley for filming because of financial reasons. It was about Southern Baptists, not LDS. And it has a great soundtrack.

Watts | 1:26 p.m. Aug. 1, 2008

Some Kind of Wonderful, for my generation (I'm almost 40) has become Some Kind of Classic (sorry... couldn't resist). While it wasn't as big a hit as Ferris or Pretty in Pink at the box office, it was discovered on Home Video... and most everyone I run into - when the conversation comes up - agree that it is a much more fully realized film, with a stronger ending (where the guy gets the Right Girl...as opposed to the girl getting the Wrong Guy *cough* Blane *cough)

And... with respect to your opinion, Mr. Vice... I don't think the leads deliver "bland" performances. As much as I loved Molly Ringwald in her heyday - I think Eric Stoltz, Lea Thompson, and especially Mary Stuart Masterson, gave performances that seemed to ring more true to what I experienced in High School (and Craig Sheffer created perhaps the ultimate uber-rich 80's preppy villian in Hardy Jenns... with '2 n's!!")

Kevin Bacon | 2:16 p.m. Aug. 1, 2008

Long live Footloose and Lehi.

Abe Frohman-The Sausage King | 3:47 p.m. Aug. 1, 2008

I agree that Ferris Buhler is the cream of this crop. That Ferris is a righteous duuude. But how about "Sixteen Candles?" It doesn't get better than the "Donger". While the "Breakfast Club" was a big hit it wasn't as funny as the other teen movies. I guess I am going to Blockbuster tonight.

Jason | 4:10 p.m. Aug. 1, 2008

The '80s a horrible movie decade? They only had the Indiana Jones movies, 2/3rds of the original Star Wars Trilogy, E.T., the Back to the Future movies, Ghostbusters, Die Hard, The Princess Bride, Ghandi, The Terminator, Aliens, Glory, Amadeus - all made in teh '80s and all in IMDB's top 250.

T bills are up a 1/4 point. | 4:29 p.m. Aug. 1, 2008

Pretty in Pink delivered some comedy relief, "no more yanky my wanky, Donger need food." However, Some Kind of Wonderful is hands down the best HS depiction of the bunch.

I agree with Watts, it is a child of the '80s classic. I would rather watch this movie ten times over, than PIP one more time.

Society to wipe out the 80's! | 4:40 p.m. Aug. 1, 2008

The 80's were awful! Remember disco? bad American cars and Reagan?

Charter member pf the society to wipe out the 1980's in our lifetime.

Random | 6:55 p.m. Aug. 1, 2008

Glad there are others defending "Some Kind of Wonderful." I know that one fit me a lot better than some of the others! Long live the 80s! (Much to the embarrassment of my children!)

I LOVE THE 80s | 7:11 p.m. Aug. 1, 2008

Footloose was the first 80's flick that I watched, and I was 14. I thought it was awesome! It was filmed in Utah, on my best friend's cousin's (brother's girlfriend's mother's aunt's son's... LOL!) ranch. Next was Top Gun and then Pretty In Pink. Oh, that is my favorite movie, and I bought it on eBay many years ago. Breakfast Club? No way! I couldn't even watch it until many years later when it came on TV or VCR rental because at the time it was rated R! You know how Mormon's and rated R movies are... even though Top Gun (had 142 swear words... I learned that @ 1987 EFY... 1st Texas session) should have been rated R if Breakfast Club was! And St. Elmo's Fire? Again, rated R, so I had to wait. Sixteen Candles! Better Off Dead! Right, with John Cusack? Oh, I love 80's movies & music! Brings back such great memories! Maybe that's why I love the song by Bowling For Soup... 19, 19, 1985!

Ed Clinch | 10:07 p.m. Aug. 1, 2008

For the record, disco was a product of the 1970s.

I was very conscious during the 80s (age 9 to 19) and disco was very uncool and dead back then.

I was surprised how it revived in the mid 1990s.

The 80s will always be my adolescence...

Michelle | 9:53 a.m. Aug. 2, 2008

Excuse me, but Pretty in Pink better than Some Kind of Wonderful?

Not by a long shot. More cliched, more cartoonish performances, sillier fashion. I just watched them both, and Pretty in Pink is dated beyond belief, whereas Some Kind of Wonderful still feels real and kind of painful.

I think Stolz, Masterson and Thompsen gave much better performances, and made a little gem. Not as sparkly, perhaps, but richer.

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